"You're coming back? When?" The excitement in my voice is hard to contain as I hear the good news coming from the other end of my cell phone.

"I am. Not permanently, but for a month or so." Uncle Kim responds. "I want to see you! I miss our Saturday afternoons."

Smiling brightly as I try to pick out my clothes for the day, I end up having to just plop down on to my bed for a moment. It's been forever since I've seen Uncle Kim and while I feel myself starting to finally move on with my life, he'll always hold a special place in my heart - regardless of who I'm dating.

"Of course you'll see me." I stare up at the ceiling, my smile faltering from my face and my excitement dwindling with it. "Just you?" I ask, knowing what the answer will be.

"I'm sorry." It's all Uncle Kim can say, knowing what I'm thinking - knowing all of the heartbreak I went through and also knowing Taehyung's side of the story. Even though he won't tell me any of that.

A barely visible smile comes across my face as if he can even see it while a moment of silence passes between us. "Isn't it getting late over there? You don't stay up as late as you used to anymore."

He chuckles, "Yeah, I'm getting old."

Rolling my eyes, I sigh out in annoyance at him saying that again, "Dude, you're only forty one. That's not old at all."

"Dude?" He mocks me with a surprised tone of voice. "You've gotten disrespectful since I've moved away."

"Joesonghamnida Uncle Kim," I croon, "but you're still not old."

"Mmhmm, say that to these knees that creek and snap every time I squat now." He laughs, making me giggle along with him. "I'll call you again soon. Take care of yourself, Ava. I love you."

"I will. I love you too. Talk to you soon." I wait a few more seconds before ending the phone call.

Not going to lie, I'm super excited about seeing Uncle Kim again. We can barely keep in touch these days as it is, so seeing him will be wonderful and he'll always be family to me. He took me in when he didn't have to and always treated me with nothing but love and kindness. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about the hurt I've done so well at concealing coming back in full force.

The water from the shower shuts off and I know Ethan will be coming out soon. Springing off of the bed, I hurry up and pick out something to throw on for the day. A cute pink and white dress with a lightweight jacket and some sandals will be easy and quick enough to throw on since it won't take him long to get dressed himself.

We didn't have any special plans for the day. We actually initially planned on just lazily hanging out, but Kinsley and Lucas wanted everyone to get together and we didn't want to be the only two who said no. Plus, I'll get to see Emma's baby boy.

Ethan steps into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his hips and nonchalantly rubbing his hair to dry it as his muscles flexed under his movements. My mouth dries at the sight and I do my best to direct my attention elsewhere. If I don't, lord knows we'll never leave out of my downtown loft.

A loving smile takes over his expression as he looks up and sees me slipping on my lightweight denim jacket. It's hard not to smile or blush when he looks at me like that. Especially with him looking like that.

"You look lovely today." He walks over and grabs the clothes he needed out of his overnight bag.

"Thank you." I smile and sit back down on the bed with my legs bent while he puts on his outfit which apparently is just a pair of jeans and a fitted white T-shirt, but he can make it look like it's dressier than it is. "I got a call from Uncle Kim." I casually announce as he slips on his infamous small hoop earrings.

"Yeah? How's he doing?" He happily inquires.

"Good! Real good. He's, um, coming back to the states for a little bit." I announce.

He does his best to still hold that same happy for you attitude, but I can tell his wheels are turning. Ever since we started becoming good friends, I've noticed the same tight lipped smile he does when there's something going on in his mind that he doesn't really want to say out loud.

After a slight pause, he nods and pulls out his hair brush to get the tangles out before purposely messing it back up, "Oh yeah? That'll be good for you to see him. Will it be just him?"

It's all too obvious what he's asking and I can't even blame him. He's finally getting his chance with me, but he's worried that it could be swept away from him. However, I just don't foresee anything happening. He's making me happy and I'm making him happy. It's not like the only other man in this world that I've waited for is longing for me.

I've got to move on and Ethan is a wonderful guy. I'd be a fool to pass him up otherwise.

"Just him." I softly say in return and watch Ethan try not to show the relief washing over him. "All done?" I question, changing the subject.

"All done. Just have to put my shoes on by the door." He reaches out for my hand to help me scoot off of the bed as if I needed it.

The sun was shining brightly as we drove through the city to the cafe of Kinsley's choosing with only a few random white puffy clouds adorning the baby blue sky. The ocean view in the distance with the upbeat music playing through his car speakers put me in a good mood that I wish I could bottle up and use whenever life gets hard again, but for now, I'm relishing in it. I reach up and push the button for his Range Rover's car length sunroof to roll back and smile when the sun's rays kiss my face. Ethan smiles over at me, grabbing my hand and kissing my knuckles while gripping the top of the steering wheel with his left hand. Life is good right now and it makes me excited for the future again.

Since Ethan would regularly pick me up for our friendship gatherings, it wasn't a shock to anyone when they saw us getting out of his car and walking up to the table they were all sitting around on the outdoor patio. Madison, however, was giving me a look that only best friends would recognize.

"Hey guys!" Kinsley beams as she waves us over.

"Hey!" I skip over to her and wrap her in a tight hug before giving Lucas a hug as well.

With she and Lucas flaking on us the night of Ethan's little dinner party, it had been quite some time since I've been able to see her. These days she's so busy wedding planning and working that she doesn't have much time to hang out like she used to.

After giving hugs to everyone and taking a moment to completely gush over Baby Evan, I take a seat next to Ethan. I didn't even think about it seeing as we've been spending so much time together and he was in my bed last night, but apparently me choosing the seat next to him instead of the empty spot next to Madison was a big deal in the eyes of our mutual friends.

"How have you two been?" Megan asks while sipping on the lemonade in her hand with her eyes slightly squinted.

"I'm good!" I look over at Ethan who's watching me speak. "Work is busy, but good. I'm looking into opening my art gallery soon. Ethan said he could help me."

"Is that right?" Kinsley asks and I see Lucas give her a look I can't quite decipher.

"And you, Ethan, how have you been?" Emma asks while laying Baby Evan back down in his stroller.

"I'm great honestly. Things couldn't be better for me right now." He states proudly and takes a sip of the water sitting in front of him.

A slight awkward silence flows over our group for a second which is strange. If anyone would be talking, it would definitely be Madison and Megan. It's probably for the best Madison isn't talking up a storm. She's pretty good at keeping secrets, but anyone can make a mistake.

"So..." Justin decides to break the ice, "we have some news that we'd like to share since you guys are all here."

"You're having a baby?" Emma's eyes widen with excitement as she stares at Madison. "Sorry! I shouldn't have said anything first, but oh my God!"

Madison giggles and shakes her head, "No, sorry. No bun in the oven yet, but..." She looks over at her husband who nods to give the go ahead, "we bought our first home!"

"What?" I smile and reach out to give her a hug. "Why didn't you tell me?" I playfully scold.

"We just got the news that they accepted our offer on the way here." She laughs while rubbing my back, still locked in our friendly embrace.

Everyone gives their congratulations and Lucas and Ethan slightly stand to toast Justin with their random assortment of drinks. Clinking their glasses together and downing a gulp as if it was an alcoholic beverage, they both high five Madison as well.

As Ethan sits back down, he reflexively puts his arm on the back of my chair. But when I lean back, he wraps it around my shoulder and pulls me into his chest. I don't even think about it as I snuggle right in and reach out to grab my drink as if this is totally normal. It completely slips my mind that no one else besides Madison knows about us until...

"Okay, what's going on with you two?" Kinsley questions with a raised eyebrow. I sit up and fidget with my jacket while Ethan pulls his arm away to fold his hands on the table.

"What do you mean?" I innocently ask, glancing over at Madison for some help.

"Yeah, what do you mean?" Ethan shrugs as if he doesn't understand it either.

"Dude, come on." Lucas says across the table to him.

"First you two came here together and while that, in itself, wasn't weird, you sitting next to him instead of Madison was." Megan states the obvious.

"Mmhmm and you're putting your arm around her and she's not even acting weird. She snuggled!" Emma adds in her two cents.

Giving a look to Madison, I silently beg again for some assistance here. I don't even know what we are and I'm not sure if I'm comfortable enough to just say Yeah, we're fucking. But all she can do is raise her eyebrows and take a sip of her Coca-Cola as if she didn't know what to do or say either. I know we put ourselves in this situation, but is it even possible to get out of it?

"She didn't snuggle." Ethan chuckles while doing his best to help me out even a little bit. Thankfully, he could tell that I was feeling uneasy.

"She totally snuggled, Ethan, and Madison knows something we don't." Kinsley points out.

"Huh? No." Madison denies, but it's written all over her face.

Hell, it's written all over mine and Ethan's faces, too.

Turning my attention to Ethan, he gives me a look as to tell me it's up to me. We both know he'd continue to fib or deny it if I wanted him to, but they all already know something is going on and lord knows they wouldn't drop it if we did keep up this act. I bite my lip with wide eyes as I stare into his. The butterflies fluttering in my stomach from being put on the spot have me feeling queasy, but when he smiles at me, I feel like everything will be okay.

"We, um...we..." I stutter and grab Ethan's thigh.

"We're still friends, but we're getting to know each other differently." He pipes up to get me out of it.

My shoulders sag in relief. It's out there now, there's no going back and there's no hiding it anymore. I just hope that we don't feel that pressure now. 

"That's great!" Megan smiles at me.

"About time!" Kinsley squeals in excitement. She had been waiting a long time for her two friends to start dating. Having always put Ethan on a pedestal for me, she was hoping I'd get curious enough to eventually give him a shot, but around two years ago, she quit pushing it. I think she gave up hope or just figured I wasn't attracted to him, but come on...what girl wouldn't be at least physically attracted to this man?

Emma, Justin and Lucas all mention how happy they are they we're giving us a chance. Since everyone here was around for the Taehyung break up and they witnessed just how crushed I was, it does make me feel good that I have their support and it makes me even more reassured that I'm in good hands. I doubt all of my friends would be rooting for us to date if they felt he was a bad person, but even I know he is a good guy. All those years ago when Antonio drunkenly told me how good of a person Ethan was, he definitely wasn't lying to me.

Kinsley wads up the paper that was originally wrapped around her straw and throws it towards Madison, "And I knew you knew something! You didn't even seem surprised."

"Of course I knew. You don't think I forced her to tell me?" She giggles and throws the tiny wad of white paper back at her.

Ethan grabs my hand under the table and squeezes. The look in his eyes as I stare up at him with a smile makes my heart flutter. He looks so happy and proud that we took this next step together and in this moment, I just want to protect him with everything I have.

Maybe I could fall in love with someone else one day, but is it even possible to be in love with two people at once?